m  ■     P 

A  1 1 

I ;  i 


i}  DISCOURSE 


OCCASIONKP     BY    THE 


TWO-HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 


OF   THE    FORMATION    OF 


^Ite  j^irst  ^augregati0nal  j^ocictji 


MILTON,    MASS., 


I'Et.fVERED    BY 


Frederick'  Frothingham, 

Associate  Paster, 
In  the  Meeting-House  at  Milton,  Sunday,  April  28,  1878. 


♦ 


if 

&j  Published  at  Request  of  the  Society. 


g 


'-'    V  Printed  by  T.  W.  Ripley,  138  Congress  St,  Bos-ton.  SSJi^    I  j  "'     o    ' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
AT  AMHERST 


UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

Special  Collections  &  Rare  Books 


DISCOURSE 


OCCASIONED     IiY   THE 


TWO-HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 


OF    THE    FORMATION    OF 


ffche  ^ffrsf  ^o«flregatianal  ^ocicfu 


MILTON,    MASS., 


DELIVERED    PY 


Frederick  Frothinghamj 

^ssoc'utic  $lnstor, 
In  the  Meeting-House  at  Milton,  Sunday,  April  28,  187! 


Published  at  Request  of  the  Society. 


DISCOURSE. 


"Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  chambers." — Isa.  xxvi.,  20. 

THESE  words  seem  almost  given  me  to-day. 
They  belong  to  the  history  of  this  First 
Milton  Church.  For,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  December  24,  1727,  Cotton  Mather,  stand- 
ing up  to  preach  for  the  last  time,1  addressed  them 
to  his  hearers,  inviting  them  to  enter  with  him  "  The 
"  Comfortable  Chambers,  Opened  and  Visited,  upon 
"  the  Departure  of  that  aged  and  faithful  servant  of 
"  God,  Mr.  Peter  Thacher,  the  Never-to-be-forgotten 
"  Pastor  of  Milton,  who  made  his  Flight  thither,  on 
"  December  17,  1727."  Mr.  Thacher  was  the  first 
minister  of  this  church.  The  sermon  is  quaint  and 
beautiful,  a  psalm  of  triumph  at  the  translation  of  a 
noble  life  from  earth  to  heaven.  The  "  chambers  " 
which  it  opens  are  those  of  death  and  the  future 
—  the  death  and  future  of  the  good. 

The  "  chambers "  that  invite  our  opening  and 
visiting  to-day  are  chambers  of  the  past.  Since  last 
we  met,  this,  the  First  Congregational  Society  of 
Milton,2  has  closed  the  second  century  of  its  exist- 

1  He  died  February  13,  1728.     Born  February  12,  1663. 

2  This  statement  is  not  quite  exact.  In  strictness  it  applies  to  the 
"  church "  rather  than  the  parish.  The  society  as  a  separate  parish  dates 
from  1818.  Before  that  time  the  parish  and  the  Town  were  one  and  the 
same,  and  all  parish  questions,  such  as  the  building  of  a  meeting-house,  the 
election  of  a  minister,  the  fixing  of  salary  and  raising  money  for  their 
maintenance,  etc.,  were  passed  upon  in  Town-meeting.     If  the  church  took 


cnce.  Well  were  it,  if,  entering  on  a  new  century, 
in  the  noble  reverence  of  our  ancestors,  we  said  to- 
day, 

"  Like  Israel,  standing  on  the  shore, 
Here,  then,  we  pause,  look  back,  adore." 

Two  hundred  years  ago,  on  April  24,  1678,  this 
church  was  formed.  The  town  had  been  incorpo- 
rated sixteen  years  before,  in  1662.  Two  years  after 
(1664)  Robert  Vose  had  deeded  "  eight  acres  of  land 
"for  a  meeting-house  and  other  ministerial  purposes,1 
"to  eighteen  trustees,  probably  every  church  mem- 
"  ber  or  freeman  in  the  town,"  and  eight  years  later 
(1672)  a  meeting-house  had  been  built,  during  the 
incumbency  of  Rev.  Thomas  Mighill,  of  Rowley, 
whose  eight  years  of  service  closed  here  in  1677,  and 
he  settled  permanently  at  Scituate.  That  early 
church  building,*  of  which  no  known  trace  remains, 
stood  not  far  from  here,  near  where  Mr.  Wm.  P. 
Blanchard  now  resides,  corner  of  Centre  Street  and 
Vose's  Lane.  Previously  to  its  erection,  religious 
services  had  been  held  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
town,  under  the  conduct  of  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson. 
The  times  were  hard,  the  currency  worse  than  it  is 
to-day,  and  poor  Mr.  Emerson,  not  "passing  rich"  on 

the  initiative  in  electing  a  minister,  his  election  was  not  valid  until  confirmed 
by  the  Town.  Then  he  became  pastor  of  the  church  and  minister  of  the 
parish.  In  1818,  however,  the  parish  and  the  town  were,  by  the  General 
Court  of  the  State,  made  separate  organizations.  The  first  warrant  for  a 
meeting  of  the  Milton  parish  (in  1S1S)  defines  as  members  of  the  parish  "  all 
"  the  inhabitants  of  said  Town  (except  such  Inhabitants  as  do  by  law  belong 
"  to  some  other  Parish  or  Religious  Society  or  are  exempt  by  law  from  Parish 
"charges  in  said  Town  of  Milton)." 

1  Robbins's  Address,  p.  22.  -  See  Appendix,  A. 


^53  —  or  $l75  —  a  year,  which  his  people  were  too 
poor  to  raise,  "  made  shift  to  live  without  embarrass- 
ment "  by  being  "  passed  about  from  one  parishioner 
to  another,"  until,  after  his  marriage,  difficulties 
arose,  and,  called  to  Mendon,  he  left  the  town  in 
1669.  Not  until  the  24th  of  April,  1678,  was  a 
church  organized.  The  "principal  inhabitants  were 
members  of  the  Dorchester  or  Braintree  churches."  * 
But  on  that  day,  solemn  services  being  held  in  the 
meeting-house  at  Dorchester,  Gov.  Leverett  being 
present,  but  the  rain  and  snow  keeping  away  many 
of  the  magistrates,  "  by  the  assistance  of  the  elders 
and  delegates  from  the  churches  of  Boston,  Wey- 
mouth, Braintree,  and  Dedham,"2  this  church  was 
formed.3  Twelve  men  "of  ye  Brethren  of  Milton 
wn  yer  q^  was  Gathered,"  of  whom  five  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Dorchester  church,  one  of  the  Second 
church,  Boston,  one  of  the  Weymouth  church,  and 
five  "admitted  to  covenant"  at  that  time,  joined 
themselves  together  there  and  united  in  the  follow- 
ing covenant : 

"  We  whose  names  are  subscribed,  being  called  of 
"  God  to  Joine  ourselves  together  in  Chh  communion, 
"  from  our  hearts  acknowledging  our  owne  un- 
"  worthynesse,  of  such  a  priviledge,  or  of  ye  Least  of 
"  god's  mercys,  &  likewise  acknowledging  our  owne 
"  disability,  to  keep  Covenant,  with  God,  or  to  per- 
"  forme  any  spirituall  duty,  wc  hee  calleth  us  unto, 
"  unlesse,  ye  Lord  Jesus  doe  inable,  thereunto,  by  his 
"  spirit  dwelling  in  us.     Doe,  In  ye  name  of  Christ 

1  Robbins,  pp.  22,'23.  2  Ibid,  p.  24.  3  See  Appendix,  B. 


"  Jesus  our  Lord,  &  in  trust  &  confidence  of  his 
"  free  grace  assisting  us :  Freely  Covenant  &  bind 
"  our  selues,  solemnly,  in  ye  presence  of  God  hims. 
"  his  holy  Angells,  &  all  his  servants  here  present, 
"  y1  wee  will  by  his  Grace  assisting,  Indeavour  con- 
"  stantly  to  walk  together  as  a  right  ordered,  Congre- 
gation of  Christ,  according  to  all  ye  holy  rules  of 
"  a  Church  body :  rightly  Established,  so  farre  as  wee 
"doe  already  know  it  to  be  our  duty;  Or  shall  fur- 
"  ther  vnderstand  it  out  of  gods  holy  word:  Promis- 
"  ing  first  &  aboue  all,  to  give  up  ourselues  &  our 
"  ofspring  unto  ye  Lord,  God  father  son,  &  Holy- 
"  Ghost,  ye  only  true  and  liueing  God,  &  to  Cleave 
"  unto  him  as  our  cheife  &  only  Good,  and  unto  our 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  our  only  Saviour,  our  Pro- 
"  phit,  Preist  &  King,  our  spirituall  head  &  Hus- 
"  band  ;  &  for  ye  furthering  of  us  to  Keep  ys  blessed 
"  Communion  with  God  &  his  son  Jesus  Christ,  & 
"  to  grow  up  more  fully  herein,  wee  doe  likewise 
"  promise,  by  his  Grace  Assisting  us  to  Endeavour 
"ye  Establishing,  amongst  ourselues  of  all  Ids  holy 
"  Ordinances,  wc  hee  hath  appointed  for  his  Chh  here 
"  on  Earth,  &  to  Observe  all  &  Every  of  ym,  in  such 
"  sort,  as  shall  bee  most  agreeable  unto  his  will ; 
"  Opposeing,  unto  ye  utmost  of  our  chh  power  ye  Con- 
"  trary.  And  lastly  wee  doe  hereby  Covenant  & 
"  promise,  to  further  unto  yc  utmost  of  our  power, 
"  ye  best  spirituall  good,  of  such  other,  &  of  all  & 
"  Every  One,  y1  may  become  members  of  ys  Congre- 
gation, by  mutuall  Instruction,  reprehension,  Ex- 
14  hortation,  Consolation,  &  spirituall  watchfullnesse, 


"  over  one  another,  for  good ;  &  to  be  subject  in  & 
"  for  ye  Lord,  to  all  ye  Administrations  &  Censures,  of 
"  ye  Chh,  soe  far  as  ye  same  shall  be  guides  according 
"  to  ye  Rules  of  gods  most  holy  word  in  a  way  of 
"  order  peace  &  vnion  ;  with  all  promising  to  walk 
"  orderly  in  a  way  of  fellowshipe,  &  Communion 
"  with  all  ye  Chhs  of  Christ  among  us  according  to 
"  Rule.  )rt  ye  Lord  may  be  one  &  his  name  one  in 
"  all  yc  Chhs. 

"  This  Covenant  wee  doe  by  solemne  act  of  Chh 
"  Confederation  Enter  into,  with  full  purpose  of  heart 
"(as  ye  Lord  shall  help  us)  to  keep  it  forever,  & 
"  where  wee  shall  faile,  yer  to  waite  upon  our  Lord 
"  Jesus,  for  healing  &  pardon  for  his  Names  sake." 

The  names  to  this  Covenant  are : 

ANTHONY   NEWTON,  EBENEZER   CLAP, 

(Member  of  Dorchester  Church.)  (Member  of  Dorchester  Church.) 

ROBERT   TUCKER,  EDWARD   BLACKE, 

(Member  of  Weymouth  Church.)  (Member  of  2d  Church,  Boston.) 

WILLIAM    BLACKE,  GEORGE   LION, 

(Member  of  Dorchester  Church.)  (Admitted  by  Covenant.) 

THOMAS   SWIFT,  JAMES  TUCKER, 

(Member  of  Dorchester  Church.)  (Admitted  by  Covenant.) 

GEORGE   SUMNER,  EPHRAIM   TUCKER, 

(Member  of  Dorchester  Church.)  (Admitted  by  Covenant.) 

THOMAS    HOLMAN,  MANASSAH    TUCKER. 

(Admitted  by  Covenant.)  (Admitted  by  Covenant.) 

Thus  this  Milton  church  began.  Was  it  a  bad 
beginning?  Very  humble  it  truly  was,  and  very  far 
from  flattering  were  its  prospects.     The  land  was 


8 

wild,  and  scant  the  population.  The  first  tax-list  on 
record,  of  date  1674,  includes  but  fifty-nine  persons. 
King  Philip's  war  had  ended  but  two  years  before 
(1676),  and,  though  the  soil  of  Milton  was  unvisited 
by  its  fury,  the  homes  of  its  people,  like  those  of 
many  another  New  England  town,  felt  its  desolation. 
The  Indians,  though  sadly  reduced  in  numbers  by 
pestilence,  if  not  by  war,  and,  although  here  not  un- 
friendly to  the  white  man,  yet  looking  on  him  as  a 
stranger  and  an  intruder,  and  regarding  this  as  their 
native  home,  still  lingered  here,  certainly,  if  not  an 
unimportant  part  of  the  population,  at  least  an  object 
of  pious  interest  to  our  forefathers,  as  heathen  to  be 
brought  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Gospel.  That 
bears  were  here  seems  probable;  for  we  are  told 
that,  in  1725,  forty-seven  years  later,  "bears  were 
very  plenty,  twenty  being  killed  in  one  week  within 
two  miles  of  Boston,"  1  and  the  Dorchester  planta- 
tions had  been  so  annoyed  by  wolves,  that,  forty 
years  before,  20  shillings  had  been  offered  by  the 
town  for  the  first  one  taken,  15s.  for  the  second,  and 
10s.  for  every  subsequent  one,  "besides  the  Country's 
pay."~  They  were  poor  indeed,  and  in  such  a  "sea 
of  troubles,  as  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  Indians  and 
small-pox,"  as  to  occasion  Cotton  Mather's  remark 
that  "  great  numbers  merely  took  New  England  on 
their  way  to  heaven."3  But  poor  and  full  of  dis- 
tresses though  they  were,  they  would  not  be  without 
man's  best  earthly  friend,  Religion.  They  cherished 
it  well.     And  so  they  established  here  their  church. 

1  History  of  Dorchester,  p.  293.  -  Ibid,  p.  160.  3  Ibid,  p.  238. 


For  about  two  years  they  gathered  around  Rev. 
Samuel  Mann  of  Wrentham,1  driven  thence  by  the 
Indian  war  and  afterward  returning  to  his  people. 
Then  came  their  own  first  minister,  "the  never-to-be- 
forgotten  "  Peter  Thacher,  of  whom,  fifty  years  later, 
Cotton  Mather  says:  "  The  precious  flock  at  Milton 
obtained  this  gift  of  our  ascended  Saviour." 2  Six  and 
forty  years,  from  1681  to  1727,  he  labored  here,  and 
"made  his  flight"  hence  to  "the  comfortable  cham- 
bers" of  God's  "house  of  many  mansions"  in  his  sev- 
enty-seventh year.  A  man  he  was  of  uncommon  gifts 
and  acquirements,  descendant  and  progenitor  of  a  race 
of  ministers-"  his  grandfather  was  an  eminent  preacher 
at3  Old  Sarum  " —  and  well  fitted  for  the  central  posi- 
tion of  influence  assigned  at  that  time  in  Massachu- 
setts to  the  minister.  He  seems  to  have  been  physi- 
cian to  his  people's  bodies  as  well  as  to  their  souls, 
spending,  says  Cotton  Mather,  "in  medicines,  it  may 
"  be  some  scores  of  pounds,  and  a  great  part  of  his 
"  yearly  salary,  which  he  freely  bestowed  upon  the 
"  invalids  among  his  people  ;"4  ay,  it  may  be,  on  those 
of  all  the  country  round.  He  for  years  preached  to 
the  Indians  at  Punkapaug,  "  a  monthly  lecture,  & 
"  furnished  himself  with  skill  in  their  Sesquipedalian 
"  language,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "  that  he  might  be 
"  able  to  do  it."  "  On  ye  Lord's  days,"  says  the  same 
authority,  "  he  fed  his  flock  with  two  sermons.  The 
"  manna  was  rained  no  less  than  twice  in  every  Sab- 

1  Robbins,  p.  25.  3  Robbins,  p.  32. 

2  Chambers  of  God,  p.  18.  4  "The  Comfortable  Chambers,"  p.  21, 


IO 

"  bath.  He  many  years  kept  up  a  monthly  lecture. 
"  He  catechised  as  an  Angel  of  the  little  ones.  He 
"  neglected  not  the  pastoral  visits."  "  He  often  gave 
"  his  presence  at  the  private  meetings  of  his  neigh- 
"  bors,  who  met  in  course  at  one  another's  houses  for 
"  agreable  devotions.  Among  these  he  took  a  special 
"  cognizance  of,  and  had  a  special  affection  to,  the 
"  societies  of  his  dear  young  men,  and  always  manifest- 
"  ed  a  very  great  joy  to  see  his  children  walking  in  the 
"  truth ;  and  as  great  a  care  that  they  might  none  of 
"  them  decline  from  good  beginnings.  He  would 
"  sometimes  go  to  them,  and  preach  to  them,  as  well 
"  as  pray  with  them ;  and  one  of  the  sermons  which  he 
"  bestow'd  upon  them,  they  were  at  the  expence  of 
"  publishing,  that  they  might  enjoy  it  as  their  per- 
" petual  monitor.  It  is  entitled  '  The  Perpetual 
"  '  Covenant.'  "  What  an  interesting  glimpse  is 
here  of  the  life  of  that  young  time!  And  it  gives  us 
no  hint  of  the  fireless  churches,1  in  which  the  long 
services  of  worship  and  fast,  ordination  and  council 
were  held,  sometimes  lasting,  especially  those  of 
ordination  and  installation,  through  a  large  part  of 
the  day  —  no  hint  of  the  solitariness,  rudeness  and 
danger  of  the  ways  through  which  the  brave  wor- 
shippers thronged  to  the  house  of  public  worship, 
on  foot,  on  horseback  ;  in  wet  weather,  in  ox-carts ;  on 
snowshoes  or  sledges  in  winter;  and  whose  very  diffi- 
culty enhanced  the  sweetness  and  preciousness  of 
the  service  and  society  of  the  house  of  God.  Besides 
all  which  he  trained  young  men  for  college,  not  a 

i  Sec  Appendix,  C, 


II 

few  of  whom  made  a  mark  in  the  history  of  New 
England.  How  he  could  stand  it  Mather  answers 
by  referring  to  his  "  travels"  and  "the  exercise,  than 
"  which  the  medicina  gymnastica  never  prescribed  a 
"  better.  Thus,  our  ancient  Peter  held  out  so  well, 
"  that  even  w/ien  he  was  old,  he  could  gird  himself, 
"  and  go  almost  whither  he  would?  So  Peter 
Thacher  lived  and  labored,  in  surroundings  which 
perhaps  the  poorest  of  Milton's  present  dwellers 
would  call  hard,  but  so  richly  and  faithfully  that,  as 
Cotton  Mather  says,  he  and  his  people  "  were  so  far 
"  from  being  weary  of  one  another,  that  their  mutual 
"endearments  were  never  stronger  and  more  lively, 
"  than  at  the  time  when  his  death  translated  him  to 
"  the  upper  chambers? 

"  Lamentable  animosityes  &  divisions," *  as  this 
fine  brave  soul  calls  them,  had  caused  him  to  hesi- 
tate about  accepting  the  "  unanimous,  frequent  & 
affectionate  calls "  which  the  Milton  people  gave 
him;  and  towards  the  close  of  his  ministry  they 
threatened  to  reappear.  A  new  and  larger  meeting- 
house was  needed,  and  where  to  put  it  was  a  dis- 
puted question  —  not  finally  settled  till  after  many 
town-meetings  and  votings  running  through  seven 
years.  The  town  no  doubt  had  grown,  both  in 
numbers  and  wealth.  On  the  admission  of  his  son 
to  church-membership  in  1 7 1 5,  he  says,  with  a  deli- 
cious unconscious  parental  exaggeration :  "  He  is 
1 76  members  in  full  communion  admitted  by  my- 
self,"2 among  whom  he  had  recorded  "  Peg  my  Indian 

1  Church  Record,  in  his  own  writing.  2  Milton  Church  Record,  p.  6, 


12 

servant  (though  now  a  free  woman)."  In  1724,  he 
records  "  Hagar  my  negro  woman."  At  the  time  of 
his  death,  twelve  years  later  (1727),  he  had  admitted 
two  hundred  and  fifty-three.  The  Lord's  Supper  was 
administered  by  him  for  the  first  time  here,1  in  1681 
-June  19 —  to  "about  fourscore  communicants." 
This  would  imply  a  pretty  large  congregation.  In  the 
same  period,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  "  attended  the 
departure  of  all  the  founders  of  the  town," 2  most  of 
them  longlived  men  and  bequeathing  longevity  to 
their  children,  and,  better  than  that,  a  character  and 
quality  simple,  strong  and  serviceable.  The  new 
church  was  not  built  till  the  year  after  his  death.  It 
stood  near  the  road,  in  front  of  the  spot  now  occupied 
by  this  Milton  church.  Its  size  was  50  feet  by  40,  and 
28  high,  with  a  belfry,  in  which  the  Town  Meeting 
of  April  3,  1729,  voted  to  place  uabel"  to  weigh 
3  1-2  cwt.  "grose" — 392  lbs. —  the  expense  to.be 
raised  by  "  supscription."  The  sound  of  that  little 
"church-going  bell  "  might  well  be  as  modest  and  diffi- 
dent as  that  of  the  gentle  and  beloved  parson  John 
Taylor's  voice,  whose  tones  floated  up  into  its  vi- 
brations. The  town  voted  him  liberty  to  cut  timber 
in  the  ministerial  land1 — of  which  it  had  200  acres 

1  This  is  quoted  from  Mr.  Thacher's  private  diary  by  Mr.  McKeati.  Ik- 
adds  that  the  second  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  took  place  July  24, 
after  five  weeks,  and  the  third  September  4,  after  six  weeks. 

-  Robbins,  p.  3S. 

•"The  Town  Records  of  Oct.  21,  172S,  contain  a  vote  in  town  meeting 
"that  there  should  be  wood  cut  in  y"  land  needful  for  fire  at  Mr.  Taylor's 
"ordination."  For  what  purpose  this  tire  does  not  appear,  as  the  practice 
of  heating  churches  was  not  yet. 


13 

set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  etc.  —  to 
build  him  a  house :  also  that  he  shall  have  first 
choice  of  a  place  to  build  a  pew  for  the  ministry 
in  the  new  meeting-house,  and  that  his  pew  be 
built  by  the  town.  It  was  further  voted  that  those 
who  "draw  pus  shall  sit  in  them  themselves  with 
"  so  many  of  their  family  as  conveniently  can  sit  with 
"  them,  and  the  rest  of  their  family  to  be  seated  with 
"  the  rest  of  the  town."1  In  that  meeting-house  Mr. 
Taylor  labored  through  the  most  of  his  ministry. 
Ordained  November  13,  1728,  he  died  January  26, 
1719  50,  "after  above  twenty-one  years  eminent 
service  in  ye  ministerial  office  in  ye  Town  of  Milton."2 
His  strength  seems  to  have  lain  in  his  gentleness 
and  worth,  rather  than  in  self-assertion.  A  man 
apparently  of  real  culture,  by  his  cotemporaries  held 
"  remarkable  for  his  high  rank  in  the  republick  of 
letters,"  he  is  described  by  Dr.  Chauncy  as  "an 
agreeable,  pleasant  companion,  and  a  friend  that  might 
be  depended  upon,"  but  so  shrinking  that  he  would 
seldom  preach  from  home,  and  would  allow  nothing 
of  his  to  appear  in  print.  At  his  death  Dr.  Chauncy, 
by  his  orders,  committed  all  his  papers  to  the  flames. 
Dr.  C.  describes  him  as  "  rather  an  agreeable  than 
"  a  great  man,  rather  pretty  and  delicate  in  his  senti- 
"  ments  and  expressions,  than  strong  and  nervous. 
"  His  head  was  clear,  though  not  the  strongest. 
"  Few  were  more  universally  beloved  while  they  lived, 
"  and  lamented  when  dead  among  those  of  their  ac- 
"  quaintance." 3 

1  Town  Records.  -  Church  Record.  3  Robbins,  pp.  40,  41. 


H 

During  his  ministry  Deacon  Manasseh  Tucker, 
the  last  of  the  original  twelve  who  founded  the 
church,  died,  April  9,  1 743.  The  church  took  the 
occasion,  that  earlier  generation  having  passed  away, 
on  the  sixty-fifth  anniversary  of  its  formation,  to 
renew  their  "  Co\rt  with  God  &  one  another,  which 
"  They  did  accordingly,"  says  parson  Taylor,  "  April 
"  24th'  when  the  members  of  the  Ch  Male  &  Female 
"  manifested  their  Consent  to  their  Fathers  Cov1  by 
'•  standing  up  while  I  read  It  over  with  a  small  Varia- 
"  tion  as  the  Change  of  Circumstances  required." 
And  now  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  has  come 
and  gone  without  one  public  word  of  commemoration, 
gratitude,  reconsecration,  or  even  notice !  Would 
God  that  we  would  renew  it  now,  with  such  "  varia- 
tion as  the  change  of  circumstances  required  "  ! 

About  thirteen  months  after  Mr.  Taylor's  death, 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Robbins  was  ordained,  February  13, 
1 750—5  1 .  A  long  and  honorable  service  was  his  — 
running  through  four  and  forty  years,  closing  with 
his  death,  May  19,  1795  —  a  period  heaving  with 
the  agitations  of  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Robbins 
was  a  patriot.  At  the  battle  of  Lexington,  fought 
when  he  was  fifty  years  of  age,  two  of  his  brothers 
were  in  Captain  Parker's  company.  He  seems  to 
have  been  eminently  a  man  of  affairs,  and  in  1 788 
was  sent  by  the  Town  to  the  convention  which 
adopted  the  Federal  Constitution.  His  practical 
wisdom  showed  itself  in  various  ways.  At  his  ordi- 
nation a  settlement  of  ^1000  old  tenor  —  equal  to 
$500 — was  allowed  him,  and  a  salary  of  ^500,  or 


i5 

$250,  per  annum,  and  25  cords  of  wood.1  But  he 
bought  land  and  built  him  a  house  and  gradually 
acquired  a  considerable  farm  —  now  owned  by  Col. 
H.  S.  Russell  —  which  doubtless  was  a  faithful  friend 
to  him,  as  well  as  an  abode  of  hospitality  to  many 
others  in  those  distressful  days.  Then  he  showed 
rare  tact  and  skill  in  adjusting  apparently  unman- 
agable  disputes.  It  appeared  again  in  his  high 
personal  integrity  —  which,  did  men  but  know  it,  or 
would  they  but  believe  it,  is  really  wisdom.  In 
his  preaching,  says  Thos.  Thacher,  "  He  refused 
"  to  call  any  man  master  on  earth,  or  to  sacrifice  truth 
"  to  prevailing  opinions,  however  conducive  to  popu- 
"  larity,  to  consideration  and  consequence.  Such 
"  candor  and  liberal  principles  were  the  more  deserv- 
"  ing  of  praise,  since,  in  the  first  period  of  his  min- 
';  istry,  such  a  spirit  and  temper  were  not  common." 
So,  in  preaching,  "plain  and  pathetick";  in  prayer, 
apt  and  easy;  in  charity  so  large  and  just  that  he 
would  not  allow  even  the  good  in  bad  men  to  be 
forgotten  ;  in  service  to  the  unfortunate,  the  sick, 
the  sorrowing  and  the  young,  tender  and  faithful ; 
is  it  wonder  that  he  kept  his  church  free  from  fanatic- 
ism and  united  and  rational  ?  How  much  he  may 
have  served  to  prepare  for  the  changes  that  were  to 
come  when  the  Unitarian  controversy  broke  out,  we 
may  imagine,  though  can  never  know. 2 

1  Robbins,  p.  54. 

2  During  parson  Robbins's  ministry  Whitefield  preached  in  Milton.  His 
friends  sought  to  get  the  meeting-house  for  him.  But  to  this  Mr.  Robbins 
would  not  consent.  Whitefield  is  reported  to  have  said  that  "true  religion 
would  not  flourish  in  Milton  until  they  got  a  new  minister."  His  preaching 
was  held  under  the  large  tree  which  stood  in  front  of  the  Foy  house  on  Milton 
Hill,  and  which  blew  down  in  the  memorable  gale  of  1857. 


i6 

In  the  later  part  of  his  ministry,  the  question  of 
a  new  meeting-house  again  arose.  Exactly  why  does 
not  appear,  —  for  the  town  could  hardly  have  re- 
covered from  the  exhaustion  of  the  Seven- Years'  war, 
the  Revolution,  and  the  long  depression  before  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution.  Indeed,  in  the  thirty- 
two  years  ending  with  1783,  Mr.  Jas.  M.  Robbins 
says,  Milton  added  nothing  to  its  wealth  and  little  to 
its  population, — "  the  whole  increase,  "  he  says,  "  not 
exceeding  one  hundred  persons."1  In  1785  its  popu- 
lation did  not  exceed  1200  persons,  with  267  ratable 
polls/2  The  old  50  by  40  meeting-house,  however,  may 
have  been  cramped ;  and  certainly,  were  it  to-day,  in- 
stead of  ninety  years  ago, the  fact  of  the  house  being 
"  an  old-fashioned  wooden  building,"  as  a  Geograph- 
ical Gazetteer  of  t  785  calls  it,  would  have  had  a  fatal 
influence.  How  proud  we  should  be  had  we  that  old 
church-building  now !  A  town-meeting,  however, 
voted,  October  3,  1785,  to  build  a  new  meeting- 
house 66  by  52 — that  in  which  we  meet  today. 
Take  1 6  feet  off  its  length  and  1 2  off  its  breadth 
and  you  will  get  an  idea  of  the  surface  dimensions 
of  that  older  building,  in  which  for  seven  and  fifty 
years  —  a  united  church,  the  one  church  of  Milton  — 
our  fathers  worshipped.  The  cost  was  to  be  raised 
by  selling  the  old  church  at  auction,  selling  the 
pews  in  the  new  one.  and  assessing  the  balance  on 
the  polls  and  estates  throughout  the  town.  And  two 
years  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  building  of  the 
church.     Truly  the  age  of  gingerbread  was  not  yet ; 

1  Address,  p.  59.  -  Geographical  Gazetteer,  17S5. 


In  six  weeks  (November  14,  1785)  the  pews  on  the 
lower  floor,  sixty-two  in  number,  were  valued  and 
sold.  Valued  at  ^904  they  sold  for  ^"1191,  2s. — 
^"287,  2S.  being  thus  bid  for  a  choice.  The  highest 
valuation  set  on  a  pew  was  ^24;  the  lowest,  ^"11. 
The  highest  bid  for  a  choice  was  £6,  1 2s.,  by  Wm. 
Taylor;  the  lowest,  £$,  12s.,  by  John  Crehore,  junr., 
and  John  Marshall.  Ten  weeks  later  the  twenty-four 
gallery  pews  were  appraised  and  sold.  Valued  at 
,£150 — the  values  ranging  from  ^"io  to  £<\  —  they 
sold  at  ^209,  8s.,  the  bids  running  from  £i,  10s.  to 
,£5,  2s.  above  the  valuation.  The  amount  raised  by 
these  sales  was  ^1400,  10s.,  and  this  before  ground 
was  broken  for  the  new  church !  Those  simple- 
minded  fathers  of  ours,  apparently  did  not  believe 
in  spending  their  money  before  they  raised  it.  Is 
not  that  pretty  good  doctrine  to  build  a  church 
upon  ?  On  May-day,  1787,  they  began  to  frame  the 
house.  June  19  they  began  to  raise  the  frame; 
"  and  altho  four  days  ware  Barely  sufficient,"  says 
the  record,  "for  accomplishing  that  important  Diffi- 
"  cult  &  Dangerous  part  of  the  Bussness  yet  as  the 
"  Quantity  of  the  Timber  was  Large  and  also  very 
"  hevey  as  thare  was  No  damage  sustained  or  the 
"  most  triffling  accident  hapned  during  the  whol 
"  time  these  singular  Circumstances  were  generally 
"  Considered  as  evident  Tokens  of  the  divin  favour 
"and  supernatural  Protection."  December  31,  the 
Committee  in  charge  of  the  building  "  ware  agree- 
"  ably  entertained  with  the  Exhibition  of  very 
"  elligant   clock    Presented   as    a    donation    to    the 


i8 

"Town  by  Mr.  Edward  H.   Robbins."1 

On  the  first  day  of  the  year  i  788  the  new  church- 
building  was  dedicated.  It  had  cost  ,£1,700 —  $5,600. 
The  old  church  standing  on  the  road  was  pulled 
down.  Mr.  Robbins,  on  occasion  of  the  dedication, 
was  furnished  a  new  horse-hair  wig  and  black  gown. 
"In  the  spring,"  we  are  told,  "every  man  in  the 
parish  brings  a  young  elm-tree  and  plants  it  in  the 
yard.  The  three  Dutch  elms  before  the  door  were 
brought  from  Brush  Hill."  ~  The  building  stood  side- 
ways to  the  road  and  faced  south-west.  It  was  open 
to  the  roof,  had  galleries  around,  and  a  pulpit  high 
up,  on  the  west  side,  with  sounding-board,  according 
to  the  not  always  bad  fashion  of  that  time.  Sixty 
years  were  to  pass  ere  an  organ's  voice  should  -here 
be  heard. 

Here  the  last  eight  years  of  Mr.  Robbins's  min- 
istry centred.     On   his  decease,  in    1795,  the  church 

1  The  record  adds :  "  This  Butifull  Machine  Justly  Esteemed  very  orni- 
"mantal  is  really  much  more  valuable  on  account  of  its  use  and  Conveniency  ; 
"  for  while  it  serves  to  distinguish  those  artificial  Periods  of  Time  that  mea- 
sure and  Constitute  the  aggregate  Term  of  univarsall  Mortal  Duration  at 
"  the  same  time  reminds  us  of  the  Constant  and  unintrupted  Succession  of 
"  those  moments  that  will  infailably  &  shortly  reduce  that  Portion  of  time 
"  alloted  to  mortals  to  one  single  point." 

2  Robbins,  p.  66. 

They  were  brought  by  Gov.  E.  II.  Robbins.  There  were  originally 
four.  The  one  nearest  the  S.  W.  drive-way  was  blown  down  in  the  September 
gale  of  1815.  Like  many  other  trees  which  shared  its  fate  at  that  time,  it 
was  replaced,  and  it  flourished  for  about  twenty  years.  In  1S35,  however, 
when  the  meeting-house  was  turned  round,  as  it  showed  signs  of  decay  and 
obstructed  one  of  the  approaches  to  the  Church,  it  was  cut  down. 

Of  the  other  elms,  more  being  offered  than  were  required  for  the  yard 
of  the  Church,  Mr.  Wm.  Taylor  took  the  remainder  and  planted  them  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road  in  front  of  his  land,  where  they  remain  "unto  this 
present." 


z9, 

called  Rev.  John  Pierce1  (June  19,  1796),  afterwards 
the  famous  Dr.  Pierce  of  Brookline.  But  the  town 
would  not  concur ;  and  not  till  two  and  a  half  years 
after  Mr.  Robbins's  death  was  a  new  minister —  Rev. 
Joseph  McKean  —  ordained  here.  Young,  bright, 
eloquent,  and  from  childhood  of  uncommon  promise, 
—  a  promise  which  his  young  manhood's  labors  here 
did  not  disappoint,  —  he  raised  hopes  for  a  long  and 
excellent  career.  But  a  sharp  attack  of  lung  disease 
brought  his  ministry  to  an  end,  after  seven  years  of 
service,  in  1804.2  After  his  recovery,  Harvard  Col- 
lege welcomed  him  to  the  Professorship  of  Oratory 
that  John  Quincy  Adams  had  held,  which  for  ten 
years  he  filled  acceptably,  and  whence  he  went  to 
Havana,  in  181 8,  to  die,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-two. 
In  his  theology,  Mr.  McKean  was  not  Calvinist 
but  Arminian,  preparing  thus  the  way  for  the  great 
change  that  was  to  come.  But  before  naming  his 
successor,  let  us  pause  a  moment  to  glance  at  the 
people'  whom  this  goodly  succession  of  ministers 
served.     Their  story  is  largely 

"The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

We  know  little  of  them  beyond  their  names.  But 
those  names  are  a  revelation.  They  are  history  of 
the  best  kind.  They  tell,  if  not  of  attainment,  of, 
better  yet,  aspiration.  How  quaint  and  how  relig- 
iously suggestive  :  Mindwell  Tucker,  Preserved  Lion, 

1  They  who  call  the  old  times  better  than  the  new  may  find  a  grain  of 
comfort  in  the  following  "little  story."  Dr.  Pierce  used  to  say,  in  his  jovial 
fashion,  that  Mr.  John  Swift  was  the  cause  of  his  not  coming  to  Milton. 
Being  a  man  of  influence,  he  made  such  a  fuss  in  the  town  that  the  town 
refused  to  ratify  the  vote  of  the  Church  in  favor  of  inviting  Mr.  Pierce. 
And  the  weighty  ground  of  Mr.  Swift's  opposition  was,  that  he  did  not  like 
Mr.  Pierce's  stepmother. 

2  See  Appendix  D. 


20 

Silence  Lion,  Waitstill  Williston,  Charity  Liscum, 
Experience  Tolman,  Deliverance  Trot,  Recompence 
Wadsworth,  Frecgift  Cogshell,  Comfort  Foster,  Sub- 
mit Badcock,  Hopestill  Feild,  Bethel  Blair,  Content 
Marah,  Reform  Knowlton,  Supply 1  Vose.  Surely 
the  people  that  of  themselves  run  to  names  like  these 
are  such  as  will  have  "  Religion  in  Common  Life," 
if  that  be  possible.  They  will  not  be  empty  and  idle 
men,  or  frivolous  women.  Indeed,  "tramps"  and 
idlers  stood  small  chance  of  immunity  at  their  hands. 
They  builded  ships  and  mills,  and  bridges  and  roads. 
In  1785,  already  seven  mills  kept  the  Neponset  at 
work,  —  one  chocolate,  one  saw,  one  grist,  one  slit- 
ting, and  three  paper, —  and  orchards  abounded, 
yielding  ample  supply  of  cider.  But  agriculture  was 
the  chief  occupation,  —  although  even  then  the  town 
began  to  develop  the  character  which  marks  it  to-day. 
Milton  furnished  her  full  quota  to  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  more.  When  Boston,  in  the  severe  winter 
of  1 780,  was  so  blocked  by  snow  as  to  suffer  for  fuel, 
Milton  farmers  came  to  its  relief  with  heavy  supplies 
from  the  woods  of  Milton  and  Ouincy,  carried  "by 
way  of  the  river  on  the  ice  to  Boston."  And  so  they 
were  "  not  slothful  in  business,"  because  "fervent  in 
spirit,    serving    the    Lord."       Honorable    names    in 

1  I  cannot  forbear  adding  to  this  list  of  names  that  of  "Role  on  God" 
which  was  given  to  a  son  of  John  Cotton.  Its  owner,  I  am  informed,  became 
minister  of  Sandwich,  Mass.  This,  however,  is  not  given  as  one  of  the 
Milton  names. 

A  curious  glance  into  the  history  of  this  class  of  names  is  afforded  by  an 
extract  from  the  ancient  record  of  the  First  Church  of  Dorchester.  After 
mentioning  that  Wait  Clap,  daughter  of  Roger  Clap,  was  baptized  24  1  mo  50, 
i.e.,  Mar.  24,  1650,  the  record  says:  "  Louetenant  Clap  declared  ye  Reason 
"  why  he  called  his  child  Wait  was  because  he  did  suppose  the  Fall  of 
"  antichrist  was  not  Farre  off. 


21 

the  pulpit,  on  the  bench,  in  council,  at  the  bar,  in 
business,  and  in  war  arose  among  them,  and  of  noble 
women  not  a  few.  Seventeen  young  men  graduated 
from  this  town  at  Harvard  College  in  the  last 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  all  of  whom  proved 
''respectable,"  and  "some  of  them  distinguished." 
Thomas  Thatcher,  in  his  sermon  on  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Robbins,  1795,  says:  "This  town  hath  been  cele- 
"  brated  for  a  pacifick  temper  and  liberal  sentiments, 
"even  from  its  first  incorporation  ;  so  that  in  the  course 
"of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  I  never  heard  of 
"  one  ecclesiastical  council  being  called,  on  account  of 
"  any  religious  grievance." 

Twenty-eight  months  passed  after  Mr.  McKean's 
retirement,  before  his  successor  was  settled,  —  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Gile,  ordained  Feb.  18,  1807.  He  came 
to  a  very  different  Milton  from  that  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  years  before.  The  seething  activities 
of  those  years  of  war  at  home  and  abroad  ;  religious 
controversy ;  political  agitation  ;  the  free  breathing 
of  the  free  air  of  this  new  continent ;  the  independent 
life  and  self-governed  movement  of  society  in  New 
England,  —  all  had  made  their  impress  on  this 
town.  A  liberal  spirit  had  grown  up  which  could  no 
longer  be  subdued.  The  death  of  Cromwell  and  the 
restoration  of  the  monarchy  in  England,  compelling" 
the  toleration  of  the  Church  of  England  in  this 
colony,  had  paved  the  way  for  it.  The  Quaker  agi- 
tation, culminating  in  1658,  had  helped  to  it.  Roger 
Williams's  great  brave  call,  for  Freedom  of  Con- 
science and  the  Separation  of  State  from  Church, 
furthered  it.     The  English  Acts  of  Uniformity  cer- 


22 

tainly  could  not  repress  it.  The  question  of  the 
Witches ;  the  revival  under  George  Whitefield  ;  the 
protest  of  Methodist  and  Presbyterian,  with  Baptist, 
Quaker,  and  Episcopalian,  against  being  taxed  "  to 
support  the  ministry  and  repair  the  meeting-house," 
which  they  did  not  agree  to  ;  and  finally,  of  Murray, 
the  preacher  of  the  new  gospel  of  Universalism, 
added  to  their  own  theological  controversies  and  the 
Boston  influence,  which  did  not  allow  the  inhabitants 
generally  to  be  taxed  to  support  the  ministry,  as  they 
were  in  the  country  towns,  —  all  did  their  share  toward 
it.  And  certainly  the  War  for  Independence,  and 
the  upheavings  of  the  French  Revolution,  could  not 
fail  of  influence.  Thus  the  very  atmosphere  of  New 
England  thought  and  life  had  changed.  A  town 
situated  like  Milton  could  not  fail  to  show  the 
change.  Hence,  although  excellence  of  character 
and  loyalty  to  conviction  might  insure  to  the  new 
minister  a  hearty  welcome  to  his  post  of  duty  here, 
and  the  cordial  respect  and  good-will  of  all  classes  of 
the  people  of  the  town,  —  yet  that  very  excellence 
of  character  and  loyalty  to  conviction  might,  when 
questions  arose  and  a  "parting  of  the  ways"  was 
reached,  make  separation  inevitable  and  decided. 
And  so  it  proved  here. 

In  1809,  within  three  years  after  Mr.  Gile's  settle- 
ment, the  rigid  and  the  liberal  tendencies  in  the 
churches  of  Boston  and  vicinity  came  to  an  issue  in 
the  Second  Church  in  Dorchester,  —  where  Mr.  John 
Codman  had  been  settled  the  year  before,  Mr.  W.  E. 
Channing  preaching  the  sermon.  Mr.  Codman 
would  not  exchange  with  the  ministers  of  the  Bos- 


23 

ton  Association ;  although,  as  I  understand,  he  had 
been,  if  he  was  not  at  that  very  time,  a  member  of 
it.  He  was  Calvinist ;  they  Unitarian.  His  disap- 
pointed people  tried  to  move  him,  but  in  vain.  They 
wrote  to  the  ministers  with  whom  he  did  exchange, 
requesting  them  not  to  come ;  but  come  they  would. 
Twice  they  dismissed  him,  but  he  would  not  go. 
At  last  they  put  a  guard  on  the  pulpit-stairs  to  pre- 
vent his  entrance  ;  but  for  all  that  he  preached.  So 
the  controversy  waxed,  to  be  settled  at  last  by  those 
opposed  agreeing  to  sell  their  pews  and  leave  the 
parish.1 

Eleven  years  later,  in  1820,  the  controversy  re- 
appeared in  the  First  Church  in  Dedham,  but  with 
a  different  issue.  There  Mr.  Lamson  was  settled, 
against  the  remonstrance  of  two-thirds  of  the  church, 
as  a  Unitarian.  The  protesting  two-thirds  of  the 
church  members  seceded,  claimed  to  be  the  true 
church  of  Dedham,  and  carried  their  case  before  the 
Supreme  Court.  There  it  was  deoided  against  them. 
"  It  was  laid  down,  that  a  church  separating  from  a 
"  parish,  for  any  cause,  lost  its  existence  ;  that  never  in 
"  Massachusetts  had  a  church  a  legal  existence,  apart 
"  from  a  parish.  The  law  knew  of  parishes  as  corpor- 
"  ations,  and  deacons  as  corporations,  and  ministers  as 
"  corporations  ;  but  the  church  proper  was  no  corpora- 
"  tion  or  quasi  corporation,  and  could  not,  therefore, 
"  hold  property  apart  from  the  parish,  whatever  its 
"  faith."  a  Not  the  seceding  church-members,  but  the 
parish,   had   the    legal    right   to    the    title,   property, 

1  History  of  Dorchester,  p.  378. 
~  Buck,  Massachusetts  Ecclesiastical  Law,  p.  53. 


H 

records,  and  furniture  of  the  First  Church  of  Ded- 
ham. 

This  momentous  decision,  a  decision  opening  its 
own  opportunity  of  self-denial  and  martyrdom,  bore 
fruit  in  the  history  of  this  first  church  of  Milton. 

The  new  minister  proved  to  be  Calvinistic  rather 
than  Liberal,  while  the  parish  was  preponderatingly 
Liberal.  Had  Mr.  Gile  been  left  to  himself,  a  rup- 
ture might  have  been  avoided.  Perhaps  the  wonder 
is  that  it  did  not  come  earlier.  Not  till  twenty-one 
years  after  his  settlement  does  the  "  First  Unitarian 
Society  " l  appear  in  the  records  of  this  parish  (July 
4,  1828).  It  was  composed  chiefly  of  members  of 
the  parish  whom  Mr.  Gile's  ministrations  failed  to 
satisfy.  It  met  in  the  present  High-School  building, 
under  the  preaching  of  Rev.  Charles  Chauncy  Sewall. 
It  appears  as  making  overtures  to  this  parish  for  an 
equitable  division  of  the  ministerial  lands  belonging 
to  the  parish.  As  negotiations  proved  fruitless,  and 
as  danger  appeared  of  the  alienation  and  loss  of  the 
ministerial  lands,  the  "  First  Unitarian  Society"  dis- 
solved, and  its  members* resumed  their  place  in  the 
parish  and  asserted  their  rights  in  open  parish  meet- 
ing. The  question  of  exchanges  was  the  point  on 
which  discussion  turned.  At  his  settlement,  Mr.  Gile 
had  agreed  to  exchange  with  ministers  of  the  Boston 
.Association.  As  division  lines  were  more  sharply 
drawn,  it  became  increasingly  difficult  for  him  to  do 
so  ;  and  yet  the  more  urgently  his  people  required  it. 
Nearly  eleven  years  the  question  was  agitated,  termi- 
nating then  in  arrangements  for  a  separation  between 

1  See  Appendix  E. 


25 

him  and  his  people.  A  "mutual  council"  —  i.  r.,  a 
council  composed  of  representatives  of  both  parties 
—  proving  impracticable,  an  ex  parte  council,  repre- 
senting the  majority  of  the  parish,  was  convened  to 
consider  and  pass  on  the  matter.  It  met  at  Mrs. 
Atherton's  tavern,  Jan.  6,  1834,  the  house  now  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  D.  G.  Hicks,  on  the  corner  of  Canton 
Avenue  and  Atherton  St.  Horace  Mann  presented 
the  case  for  the  parish.  Mr.  Gile  did  not  appear.  The 
council,  —  composed  of  Revs.  Peter  Whitney,  of 
Quincy  ;  John  White,  of  West  Dedham  ;  Alvan  Lam- 
son,  of  Dedham  ;  James  Walker,  of  Charlestown ; 
Lemuel  Capen,  of  South  Boston,  and  Samuel  Barrett 
of  Boston,  each  of  them  accompanied  by  one  Deacon 
of  his  church,  —  voted  unanimously  that  Mr.  Gile 
had  lived  in  habitual  violation  of  the  understanding 
between  him  and  his  parish  regarding  ministerial 
exchanges,  and  recommended  that  his  connection 
with  the  parish  be  dissolved.  On  Jan.  20,  1834,  it 
was  dissolved.  He  retired  with  his  friends,  and  they 
formed  the  neighboring  society,  under  the  name  of 
the  "  First  Evangelical  Church,  Milton,"  in  whose 
ministry  he  continued  till  his  death,  in  1836. 

Thus  the  old  order  of  things  came  to  an  end,  and 
a  new  order  began.  The  time  had  come  when  the 
one  must  become  two,  —  the  one  trunk  dividing  into 
two  branches.  The  division  came,  as  it  comes  in  the 
growing  tree,  because  it  must.  The  tree  must  enter 
on  a  more  varied  and  richer  life.  The  two  branches 
were  in  it  from  the  first,  though  bound  up  in  the  one 
trunk.  Which  of  them  is  the  true  First  Milton 
Church  ?     Both  claim  so  to  be  ;  which  is  correct  ? 


26 

Could  numbers  settle  the  question  they  would  settle 
it  in  this  one's  favor.  Could  Massachusetts  law  settle 
it,  the  decision  would  be  the  same ;  for  it  awards  to 
this  parish  the  title,  records,  property,  and  furniture 
of  the  ancient  First  Church  of  Milton.  Could  ad- 
herence to  the  theologic  letter  of  the  old  covenant 
settle  it,  the  verdict  must  go  the  other  way.  And  it 
is  claimed  that  at  the  separation  the  body  technically 
called  "the  church,"  with  the  exception  of  one  noble 
woman,  withdrew.  Did  that  settle  the  question,  the 
verdict  would  go  again  the  other  way.  So  open  is 
this  question.  Two  things  are  clear :  (i)  Both  sprang 
from  the  same  stock,  and  own  the  one  ancestry ;  and 
(2)  they  are  sister  churches.  But  while  the  one  accepts 
these  facts,  the  other  rejects  them.  Which  then  is 
the  more  likely  to  be  correct,  the  more  inclusive  or 
the  more  exclusive  —  that  in  whose  life  both  live,  or 
that  whose  life  is  the  other's  death;  that  which  recog- 
nizes the  whole  case,  or  that  which  allows  but  a  part 
of  it  ?  Also,  is  not  that  the  true,  which  is  true  to  the 
larger  spirit  ?  Not  for  a  narrow  dogma,  but  for  a 
divine  life,  did  our  fathers  found  their  churches  in 
this  wilderness.  This  church  recognizes  the  other. 
It  gives  hand  of  willing  fellowship  unto  the  other. 
In  its  life  both  live.  Has  not  it  then  the  true  right 
to  the  historic  name  it  bears?  That  only  can  be 
the  Church  which  brings  life,  and  brings  it  abun- 
dantly. 

Tjius,  four-and-forty  years  ago,  this  ancient  church 
became  distinctly  Unitarian.  So  it  has  continued 
until  this  day.  May  it  grow  into  the  fulness  of  the 
spirit  of  that  all-uniting,  all-reconciling  name,  —  the 
spirit  of  the  Unity  of  God! 


27 

One  of  its  first  acts,  after  the  induction  of  a  new 
minister, —  Rev.  B.  Huntoon,  installed  Oct.  15, 
1834,  —  was  to  adopt  the  New  Testament  uas  the 
"only  Divinely  authorized  Creed  for  Christians,  and 
"  an  all-sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  x  Forty- 
eight  persons  signed  their  names  to  this  acknowl- 
edgment, "beseeching  Almighty  God  so  to  assist 
and  direct"  them  "in  discharging  all  the  duties  of 
this  present  life,  that "  they  "  may  obtain  life  Eternal 
through  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  Of 
these  forty-eight,  some  are  still  present  with  us ; 
though  most  have  "fallen  asleep." 

Soon  arose  agitation  about  a  new  meeting-house. 
The  "new  wine,"  perhaps,  suggested  "  new  bottles." 
But  surely  new  bottles  were  not  needed.  Although 
it  was  voted  to  take  down  this  building,  better  coun- 
sels prevailed,  and  contented  themselves  with  turning 
it  round  and  remodelling  it,  and  setting  off  a  portion 
of  it  for  a  Sunday-school  room.  Here,  a  Sunday- 
school  came  into  being,  and  flourished  long  under 
the  faithful  care  of  a  devoted  friend,  Deacon  Samuel 
Adams,2  whose  venerable  presence  gladdens  our 
hearts,  and  appeals  to  us  to  carry  on  the  work  by  him 
so  well  begun.  A  new  clock  was  given  by  John  J. 
Low  ;  a  chandelier  and  pulpit-lamp,  by  Francis  Low  ; 
and,  by  Mrs.  Low,  a  damask  curtain  for  the  pulpit. 
Mr.  Samuel  H.  Babcock  gave  a  pulpit-carpet,  chair, 

1  See  Appendix  F. 

2  Since  writing  the  discourse  I  have  learned  that  Dr.  Charles  R.  Kennedy 
was  the  first  Superintendent  of  this  Sunday  School.  But  his  connection  with 
it  was  very  brief,  sufficiently  long,  however,  to  leave  a  fragrant  memory  of 
him  behind.  An  early  death  cut  off  the  goodly  promise  of  his  future 
usefulness. 


28 

and  Bible  ;jind  Miss  Louisa  G.  Davenport,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  All  of  these  donors,  except 
Miss  Davenport,  were  citizens  of  other  towns.  On 
Dec.  9,  1835,  the  building  was  dedicated  anew  to  God, 
with  "solemn  and  interesting"  services,  —  the  music 
led  by  Deacon  Martin.  In  185 1,  it  received  a  new 
change;  in  1868,  a  new  organ  ;  and  finally,  in  1871, 
another  change,  which  made  it  as  we  see  it  to-day. 
Long  may  it  stand,  an  emblem  of  the  Enduring  ; 
a  symbol  from  the  Past ;  a  silent  voice,  speaking 
the  name  of  the  All-Holy  ! 

Quietly,  meanwhile,  it  has  done  its  work,  under  the 
peculiar  conditions  of  a  widely-scattered  and  very 
shifting  membership.  Four  ministers  it  has  had, 
since  the  new  epoch  in  its  history  began,  —  Huntoon, 
called  early  away  to  a  Western  field ;  Angier,  with 
soul  of  music,  withdrawing  after  eight  short  years  of 
service ;  Morison,  still,  God  be  praised !  among 
us,  and  of  whom  our  hearts,  rather  than  our  lips, 
would  speak  to-day ;  Washburn,  so  early  trans- 
lated that  only  here  and  there  an  eye  had  learned  to 
see  his  precious  worth.  And  now  a  fifth  stands  in 
their  place,  to  do  what  little  work  he  may,  ere  he  too 
"goes  the  way  of  all  the  earth."  Into  the  quietness 
of  those  now  vanished  years,  burst  the  fury  of  the 
storm  of  war.  But  it  did  not  pass  until  it  had  kin- 
dled some  modest  souls  that  here  belonged  unto  the 
glow  and  glory  of  a  beautiful  immortality. 

Here,  to-day,  at  the  end  of  these  two  hundred 
years,  looking  back,  we  say  involuntarily,  "  What 
a  change !  "  If,  in  some  ways,  how  sad  a  change, 
must  we  not  also  add,  How  glad  an  one  ?      Have 


29 

the  Fast-days,  so  dear  to  our  fathers,^  died ;  has 
Thanksgiving  become  a  family  festival  ;  have 
the  "  ordinances,"  spoken  of  with  such  reverent 
joy  in  the  first  covenant  of  this  church,  lost  their 
hold  on  men's  regard,  and  become  even  a  stum- 
bling-block, or  empty,  to  many ;  is  the  worship 
of  the  church  cruelly  neglected  ;  has  the  minister 
ceased  to  be  the  man  of  power  in  the  community, 
and  his  office  changed  into  a  Sunday  lectureship, 
—  only  virtuous  within  twenty  minutes  ?  Admit  it 
all.  Then  ask,  too,  if  slavery  has  not  died  ;  if  the  free 
mind  has  not  a  free  ran^e  it  had  not  then  ;  if  there 
is  not  to-day  magnificent  opportunity  for  noble 
souls  ;  if  the  brave,  wise  speaker  may  not  to-day  get 
hearing  due  ;  if  religion  does  not  yet  live  in  the  hearts 
and  souls  of  men ;  if  the  call  of  to-day  be  not  for  a 
style  of  manhood  which  even  our  fathers'  nobleness 
would  only  prophesy  ?  And  remember  that  To-day 
is  not  To-morrow,  —  only  the  narrow  bridge  be- 
tween Past  and  Future.  The  end  is  not  yet.  A 
greater  is  to  come. 

Have  our  fathers  contributed  to  that  greater  yet 
to  come  ?  Their  work  is  before  us.  Was  it  not  a 
good  work  ?  Try  it  by  its  fruits,  in  two  centuries 
of  results  ;  try  it  by  its  outcome  in  the  largeness  of 
human  life,  not  in  merely  the  pettiness  of  a  single 
church's  life.  Will  not  a  noble  answer  reach  us  ? 
Something  it  has  had  to  do  with  making  New  Eng- 
land. Have  they  cause  to  blush  for  their  god-child  ? 
Perfect  they  were  not.  They  knew  it;  they  con- 
fessed it ;  and  besought  the  Lord  and  each  other  to 
help  them  become  so.     Are  we  perfect  ?     No.     But 


3° 

do  we  own  it,  and  seek  God's  and  each  other's  help 
to  grow  so?  Perfect  they  were  not.  Even  slavery 
existed  among  them  ;  and  the  records  tell  of  scan- 
dals in  the  very  church.  But  as  "  the  stars  fought 
in  their  courses  against  Sisera,"  so  the  very  seasons, 
as  well  as  the  whole  spirit  of  New  England,  with 
more  literal  truth,  fought  against  slavery  and  scan- 
dals here.  They  built  on  the  basis  of  Religion.  They 
would  not  even  seem  to  deny  it.  That  cant  was  re- 
served for  a  later  and  more  "cultivated  "  time.  They 
knew  that  religion  is  the  one  thing  needful  ;  and, 
with  manliest  childlikeness,  they  took  the  directest 
way  they  knew  to  reach  it.  We  know  it  as  well  as 
they.  We  claim  to  have  reached  a  higher  thought 
of  religion  than  theirs.  How  do  we  honor  that 
nobler  thought?  They  did  nobly  with  a  poor 
thought  of  religion.  Is  not  a  poor  religion,  that 
brings  forth  a  divine  life,  better  than  a  good  one, 
whose  fruit  is  emptiness,  —  which  is  openness  to 
the  spirits  of  evil  ?  The  good  one  is  here.  Oh  !  let 
it  so  be  used,  that  the  centuries  to  come  shall  say  of 
us,  as  certainly  to-day  we  must  say  of  our  fathers, 
"  Well  done,  s:ood  and  faithful !  " 


APPENDIX. 


A.  —  Page  4. 

That  this  was  not  the  first  meeting-house  erected  in  Milton 
appears  from  the  following  extract  from  the  old  Town  records : 

"At  a  town  meeting  the  last  day  of  September  1670  it  was 
"  agreed  by  the  towne  vote  that  ther  should  be  a  convenient 
"  meeting-house  for  the  townes  use  built  neare  about  Goodman 
"  Vose  his  loked  barre,  &  also  that  the  old  meeting  house  should  be 
"  repaired  to  meet  in  this  Winter  and  Seargeant  W"  Blake,  Sear- 
"geant  Rob'  Badcock,  Seargeant  Sam.  Wadsworth,  Thorn  Swift, 
"  Antony  Golliford  and  Robert  Tucker  was  chosen  by  the  towne 
"  to  see  the  old  house  repaired  as  soon  as  they  can  and  to  geat 
"the  new  one  built  in  one  yeers  time  if  they  can." 

The  following  votes  show  how  the  cost  of  the  new  meeting- 
house was  provided  for:  "Upon  a  training-day  the  22'1  of  Octr 
"  1670  it  was  agreed  by  a  vote  of  the  Train  Band  and  several 
"  other  that  were  present  that  6  acres  of  the  Town  Land  should 
"  be  Cleared  of  the  Timr  and  wood  to  By  nails  &  Glass  for  the 
"  new  meeting-house." 

The  meeting-house  was  to  be  paid  for  by  the  proceeds  of  the 
wood  from  the  above  six  acres.  The  Town  levied  a  rate  of  ^50 
(fifty  pounds)  towards  the  erection  of  the  building.  Each  man 
could  pay  his  share  of  that  Rate  by  cutting  and  hauling  a  portion 
of  the  wood  to  the  town  landing.  Laid  on  the  town  landing  it 
was  reckoned  at  one  shilling  and  three  pence  a  cord  !  On  Janu- 
ary 10,  1670-1,  the  Town  voted  that  if  the  6  acres  wood  do  not 
suffice  to  pay  for  the  meeting-house  so  much  more  shall  be 
allowed  out  of  the  land  "as  will  pay  all  the  Rats  for  that 
building." 


B.  — Page  5. 
The  following  is  the  account  of  this  event  given  in  the  ancient 
record  of  the 'First  Church  of  Dorchester,  and  copied  literally:  — 
"  The  24  2  78  ther  was  a  Church  gathered  by  some  of  or 


32 

"breatheren  y*  livcl  at  Milton  it  was  done  in  o'  meeting  hons 
"at  Dorchester  becaus  of  some  opposission  y' did  appeare  ;  ye 
"  Persons  wcb  they  sent  unto  weer  the  Elders  &  messengers  of 
"y'J  three  Churches  in  Boston  &  waymoth  Brantree  &  Deadham 
"ye  Majestrats  weer  accquainted  with  it  but  only  ye  governor 
"washeerby  reason  of  y1' wett  and  Snow  season.  Mr  Allen 
"  did  first  pray  and  then  Mr  Flint  did  preach  from  ye 
"  &  then  prayed,  afterward  the  breatheren  weer  Called  on  one 
"  after  another  to  declare  ye  work  of  grace  yl  god  had  wrought 
"  on  them  to  y°  number  of  Seaven,  but  before  they  began  it  was 
"  put  to  ye  whole  assembly  both  messengers  and  others  whether 
"  any  had  any-  Just  reason  against  their  p  ceeding  but  all  weer 
"silent  after  they  had  made  their  relations  a  confession  of  faith 
"  was  read  by  or  Elder  unto  wcl1  they  all  Consented  by  lifting  up 
"of  hands,  then  thos  Seaven  breatheren  weer  Called  downe  into 
"ye  body  of  ye  assembly  and  a  Covenant  was  read  unto  them 
"  unto  which  they  all  Consented  by  lifting  up  of  hands.  yp  brea- 
"theren  yl  entered  into  this  Covenant  &  made  publique  relation 
"  weer  thes  : 

"  Robt  Tucker,  member  of  waymoth 

"  Anthony  Newton, 

"William  Blake, 

"Thomas  Swift, 

"  Georg  Sumner, 

"  Edward  Blake, 

member  of  y*  2  Church  in  Boston,    | 

"  Ebenezer  Clap,       J 
"  After  this  was  done  ther  weer  more  of  o'  Breatheren  yl  did 
"  at  ye  same  time  enter  into  y°  same  Covenant  with  the  former 
"  namly 

"Thomas  Holman, 

"  Gkorg  Lyon, 

"  Ephram,  ~) 

"  Manasses  &      V   Tucker. 

"  James  I 

"  And  then  Mr  Tory  was  apponted  to  give  ye  right  hand  of 
"  Fellowship  &  Mr  Mather  prayed  &  a  psalme  sung  &  yc  assem- 
"  bly  dismissed." 


members  of  Dorchester  Church. 


33 

C  — Page  io. 

In  this  connection  I  gladly  quote  the  following  from  Rev. 
Richard  S.  Edes's  address  on  the  138th  Anniversary  of  the  In- 
corporation of  the  Town  of  Bolton,  Mass:  — 

"And  as  to  the  churches  of  that  clay  —  no  that  won't  do  — 
"  the  '  meeting-houses,'  what  rude  structures  they  were  !  how  far 
"  removed  from  the  luxurious,  painted,  carpeted,  cushioned, 
"  warmed, 'dimly-religious-lighted  '  structures  to  which  we  now 
"resort!  oftentimes  without  plastering  on  the  inside,  oftentimes 
"  without  pews,  and  with  rough  hewn  boards  for  seats,  frequently 
"used  for  shelter  by  the  passing  traveller,  or  by  the  cattle  when 
"  exposed  to  the  violence  of  one  of  our  autumnal  or  wintry 
"storms;  —  no  stoves  or  furnaces  for  heating  —  the  winds  of 
"  heaven  admitted  freely  through  rattling  windows  and  many  a 
"  crack  and  crevice.  And  yet,  for  all  that,  they  were  doubtless 
"  as  much  '  houses  of  God '  and  '  gates  of  Heaven,'  and  furnished 
"  as  friendly  a  '  shadow  of  a  rock  in  a  weary  land '  as  any  of  our 
"  more  stately  and  adorned  modern  edifices ;  and  what  was  want- 
"  ing  in  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air  was  made  up  in  the 
"warmth  of  heat  found  within  the  bosonte  of  the  worshippers." 


D.  —  Page  19. 
Health,  it  is  only  fair  to  say,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
the  only  motive  which  induced  separation  between  Mr.  McKean 
and  his  people.  That  "political "  bugbear  which  has  occasioned 
so  many  other  separations  may  have  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  it. 
The  expression  "  those  existing  circumstances  in  the  Town  rela- 
"  ting  to  the  provision  for  his  support,"  in  the  Report  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Council  recommending  the  separation,  gives  a 
plain  hint  of  it.  Being  of  an  ardent  and  impulsive  nature,  a 
man  who  never  did  anything  by  halves  —  indeed  the  beauty 
and  care  of  his  restoration  of  the  early  Church  Records,  with- 
out which  they  might  have  been  lost,  attest  this  —  he  made 
devoted  friends  and  as  decided  enemies.  One  can  conceive  of 
his  sometimes  overstepping  the  bounds  of  a  severe  discretion. 
Anecdotes  still  exist  which  give  a  clear  taste  of  his  quality. 
After  one  of  his  sermons  a  Mr.  Ezra  Coates  said  to  him  : 
"Mr.  McKean,  it  will  never  do  to  preach  such  sermons  as  that." 
Mr.  McKean  promptly  answered,   "  Five  hundred  dollars  a  year 


34 

is  not  going  to  stop  my  mouth."  He  was  an  Abolitionist  — 
verily  one  of  the  pioneers  —  one,  too,  who  apparently  saw  only 
one  issue  of  the  tendencies  already  showing  themselves.  He 
is  reported  to  have  said — was  not  the  utterance  prophetic: 
"  I  want  to  see  the  North  and  South  get  to  loggerheads.  When 
"  they  do  that,  I'll  swap  my  black  coat  for  a  red  one."  A  lover 
of  his  country,  at  the  baptism  of  his  child  he  prayed  that  in 
case  the  child  should  grow  up  to  be  an  "  Atheist,  a  Deist,  or  a 
"  disturber  of  his  country's  rights,  oh  God  be  pleased  to  take 
"him  away."  He  was,  moreover,  an  ardent  Federalist.  On 
one  occasion,  at  a  dinner  party,  he  met  a  gentleman  whose 
manners  and  conversation  filled  him  with  delight,  but  whose 
politics  were  of  the  opposite  stamp.  On  parting  with  him 
Mr.  McKean  frankly  said  to  him,  "  You  are  the  only  Democrat 
I   ever  knew  that  was  a  gentleman."      When   he  preached  his 

farewell   discourse,  Mr.  J S ,    who  was  a  leader  of  the 

then  Democratic  party,  a  very  different  from  the  present  one, 
it  is  almost  needless  to  remark  —  and  who,  on  account  of  Mr. 
McKean's  outspoken  Federalism,  could  not  abide  him  and  had 
long  stayed  away  from  church,  was  present.  After  feeling  allu- 
sions to  various  topics  suited  to  such  an  occasion,  Mr.  McKean 
remarked  that  he  was  happy  to- say  he  was  going  to  leave  the 
town  with  the  good  opinion  of  all  whose  good  opinion  was  worth 
having.  Mr.  S.  ejaculating  "you  ....  puppy,"  rose  and  quit 
the  church. 


E.  —  Page  24. 

The  original  paper,  with  its  signatures,  setting  forth  the  reason 
for  creating  this  new  Society,  is  still  in  existence,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  Charles  Breck  of  Milton.     The  following  is  a  copy  : 

"We  the  subscribers  viewing  the  practice  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Society  in  Milton,  in  excluding  from  the  pulpit,  gener- 
"  ally,  that  class  of  clergymen  who  are  usually  denominated 
"  Liberal,  as  an  infringement  of  our  religious  rights,  and  an 
"obstacle  to  the  Spirit  of  religious  Inquiry,  regret  that  we  have 
"  been  compelled  to  secede  from  the  same. 

"  Considering  it  to  be  our  duty  to  give  our  aid  in  support  of 
"  that  religious  instruction  only  which  we  believe  to  be  most  con- 
formable to  the  Scriptures,  and  wishing  to  avail  ourselves 
"of  the  privileges  given  us    by  the  Statutes  of  this  Common- 


35 


"  wealth,  —  We,  therefore,  according  to  said  Statutes,  do  form 
"  ourselves  into  a  religious  Society,  by  the  name  and  style  of 
"the  First  Unitarian  Society  in  Milton.     Milton,  Sept.  7  :   1826. 
(Signed,) 

Leonard  Newton, 

N.  D.  Turner, 

J.  S.  Foord, 

Jer»  Crehore, 

Benjn  B.  Bronsdon, 

Oliver  Pierce, 

Albert  McKendry, 

George  L.  Fisher, 

Benjn  Bronsdon, 


Jazh  Foord, 
John  Ruggles, 
Benjn  McKendry, 
Simon  Ferry, 
Leml  Babcock,  Jr. 
Dana  Tucker, 
Jason  Reed, 
John  Bronsdon, 
Chas  C.  Crehore, 


John  S.  Crehore, 
Isaac  Davenport, 
Elisha  Reed, 
Phinehas  Bronsdon, 
Geo.  W.  Stimpson, 
Lemuel  Babcock, 
Stephen  Babcock, 
Charles  Breck. 


F.  —  Page  27. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  the  instrument  in  which  this  was 
done,  with  the  accompanying  signatures.  It  is  recorded  on 
blank  leaves  attached  to  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  belong- 
ing to  the  Church  : 

"  For  the  support  of  the  Institutions,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the 
"  Ordinances  of  the  Gospel,  We  associate  ourselves  as  the  body  of 
"  Communicants,  in  the  First  Congregational  Church  in  Milton, 
"  by  subscribing  our  names  to  the  New  Testament,  which  we 
"  receive  as  the  only  Divinely  authorized  Creed  for  Christians, 
"  and  an  all-sufficient  rule  of  Faith  and  Practice  ;  beseeching 
"  Almighty  God,  so  to  assist  and  direct  us  in  discharging  all 
"the  duties  of  this  present  life,  that  we  may  obtain  life  Eternal, 
"through  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 


Catharine  Dunbar, 

Mary  B.  Clarke, 

Matilda  Vose, 

Walter  Cornell, 

Mary  Cornell, 

Amy  Batty, 

Stephen  Babcock, 

Rufus  P.  Sumner, 

Susan  Sumner, 

Saml  Adams, 

Margrett  L.  Babcock,  Dana  Tucker, 

Charles  R.  Kennedy,    Rebeca  Tucker, 
Nathaniel  Davenport.Ephraim  Hunt,  Jr.         Nathl.  T.  Davenport, 
Nancy  Davenport,        Simon  Ferry,  Sarah  Davenport, 

Jer"  Crehore,  Rhoda  Ferry,  Elmira  Thayer, 

Joann  Crehore,  John  J.  Low,  Elizabeth  Simpson. 


Benjamin  Huntoon, 
Susan  Huntoon, 
John  Ruggles, 
Betsy  Ruggles, 
Betsy  Ruggles,  Jr. 
Esther  Soper, 
Leml   Babcock,  Jr. 
Lucretia  Babcock, 
Moses  Gragg, 
Rebekah  N.  Gragg, 
Edward  Capen, 
Mary  Capen, 


Frances  M.  Clark, 
Eliza  A.  Clark, 
Lydia  S.  Ford, 
Mary  A.  Clark, 
J.  S.  Foord, 
James  Tucker, 
Thomas  Snow, 
Lewis  Davenport, 
Lucretia  Babcock, 
Lydia  Davenport, 


36 

"  December  ioth,  a.  d.  1834. 
"  The  persons  whose  names  are  here  subscribed,  being  forty- 
eight  in  number,  were  duly  constituted,  as  the  body  of  com- 
municants, in  the  First  Congregation  Church  in  Milton  by  me 
Pastor  of  said  Church,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  churches 
was  expressed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cunningham  of  the  3d  Church  in 
Dorchester. 

"  Certified  this  tenth  clay  of  December  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four." 

"  Be:njamin   Huntoon,  Pastor  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church,  in  Milton,  Mass," 


37 


ROLL   OF    HONOR. 


The  names  of  those,  belonging  more  or  less  closely  to  the 
First  Religious  Society  of  Milton,  who  took  arms  in  defence  of 
their  country  in  the  late  war  of  Emancipation,  are  given  below. 
Surely  a  true  church  would  be  sorry  to  omit  them  from  even  the 
most  imperfect  record  of  its  history.  For  the  following  list  I  am 
indebted  mainly  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  George  A.  Fletcher,  who 
has  aimed  to  make  it  as  perfect  as  the  means  at  his  command 
allowed. 

Alden,  Samuel  W.,  4^th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Badger,  Algernon  S.,  26th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Bowman,  William  H.,  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Bradlee,  J.  Walter,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Breck,  Charles  E.  C,  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Broad,  Horace  S.,  7th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Bronsdon,  Amos  H.,  13th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Bronsdon,  Charles,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Bronsdon,  William  B.,  45th  Mass  Infantry. 
Crossman,  John  G.,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Davenport,  N.  T.  Jr.,  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Davis,  Walter  S.,   22d  Mass.  Infantry. 
Faucon,  Edw'd  H.,  United  States  Navy. 
Fisher,  George  A.,  5th  Mass.  Cavalry. 
Fletcher,  George  A.,  56th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Fletcher,  James  W.,  56th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Forbes,  William  H.,  2d  Mass.  Cavalry. 
Gunnison,  Edwin  L.,  29th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Hicks,  David  F.,  13th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Hocking,  Alfred,  18th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Hollingsworth,  A.  L.,  First  Corps  Cadets. 
Hollis,  Abijah,  56th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Holmes,  C.  C,  First  Corps  Cadets. 


38 


Hunt,  Samuel,  40th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Huntington,  Edvv'd  S.,  U.  S.  Army. 
Langley,  John  W.,  U.  S.  Navy. 
I.ittlefield,  Chas.  G.,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
McKendry,  Archibald,  California  Hundred. 
Mann,  Frank  H.,  13th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Mann,  Isaac  G.,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Merrill,  Thomas,  7th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Morse,  Alfred  L.,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
George  H.  Morse,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Peabody,  O.  W.,  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Perkins,  Stephen  G.,  2d  Mass.  Infantry. 
Piper,  Alonzo,   60th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Reed,  J.  Sewall,  California  Hundred. 
Rowe,  John  F.,  1st  Mass.  Cavalry. 
Russell,  Henry  S.,  2d  Mass.  Infantry. 
Sias,  John  F.,  U.  S.  Navy. 
Sias,  John  2d.,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Snow,  Elbridge.  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Snow,  J.  H.,  45th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Snow,  W.  F.  61st  Mass.  Infantry. 
Thayer,  Charles  H.  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Thayer,  Fred  A.,  7th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Thayer,  Samuel  G.,  35th  Mass.  Infantry., 
Vose,  George  E.,  38th  Mass.  Infantry. 
White,  Edward  P.,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
White,  James  C,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
White,  John  E.,  44th  Mass.  Infantry. 
Woolcot,  J.  Huntington  Jr.,  2d  Mass.  Cavalry. 


39 
MINISTERS  OF  THIS  CHURCH. 


i.  Peter  Thacher,  born  in  Weymouth,  165 1;  ordained  in  Milton, 
June  1,  1 68 1  ;  where  he  died  in  office  Dec.  17,  1727. 

2.  John  Taylor,  born  in  Boston,   1704;    ordained  in  Milton, 

Nov.  13,  1728  ;  where  he  died  in  office  Jan.  26,  1749-50. 

3.  Nathaniel  Robbins,  born  in  West  Cambridge,  1726;  ordained 

in  Milton,  Feb.  13,  1750-51  ;  where  he  died   in   office  May 

*9>  J795- 

4.  Joseph  McKean,  born  at  Ipswich,  1776;  ordained  in  Milton, 

Nov.  1,  1797;  "separated  at  his  proposal"  Oct.  3,  1804; 
and  died  at  Havana,  Cuba,  in  18 18. 

5.  Samuel  Gile,  "  son  of  Major  E.  Gile,  of  Plastow,  N.  H.," 

was  ordained  in  Milton  Feb.   18,   1807  ;   separated  by  ex 
parte  Council  Jan.  6,  1834;  and  died  in  Milton,  as  pastor 
of  "  First  Evangelical  Church,  Milton,"  Oct.  16,  1836. 
For  fuller  details  see  notes  to   "  Two  Sermons  "  suggested  by 

the  "Centennial  Celebration,"  preached  June  15  and  22,  1862, 

by  John  Ff.  Morison,  D.D. 

6.  Benjamin  Huntoon,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mehitable  [Page] 

Huntoon  ;  born  in  Salisbury,  N.H.,  Nov.  28,  1792  ;  installed 
Oct.  15,  1834;  separated  at  his  own  request,  June  20,  1837  ; 
and  died  in  Canton,  April  19,  1864. 

7.  Joseph  Angier,  son  of  Dr.  John  and  Rebekah  [Drew]  An- 

gier ;  born  in  Durham,  N.  Ff.,  April  24,  1808;  installed 
Sept.  13.  1837  '■>  separated  at  his  own  request,  June  22,  1845  ; 
and  died  in  Milton,  April  12,  187 1. 

8.  John  Hopkins  Morison,  son   of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Ann 

[Hopkins]  Morison  ;  born  in  Peterborough,  N.  H.,  July  25, 
1808;  and  installed  Jan.  28,  1846, —  the  present  honored 
and  beloved  senior  pastor. 

9.  Francis  Tucker  Washburn,  son  of  William  R.  P.  and  Susan 

E.  [Tucker]  Washburn;  born  in  Boston,  Sept.  24,  1843; 
ordained  and  installed  as  associate  pastor  March  2,  187 1  ; 
and  died  in  office  Dec.  29,  1873. 

10.  Frederick  Frothingham,  son  of  John  and  Louisa  G. 
[Archbald]  Frothingham;  born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  April  9, 
1825 ;  installed  as  associate  pastor  Oct  8,  1876. 


